La Barra News

Praise the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name!!

The trip down to La Barra was uneventful until the last day. We left around 7 am only to sit on the highway for an hour and a half while the road was cleared of an accident. No one was hurt that we know of. We were able to give a man the booklet Ultimate Questions as we chatted with those on the road waiting. Later we saw his friend reading it in his truck. We were back on the road again until around 1:30 pm when we came to a dead stop again. Apparently a village several kilometers ahead was protesting by blocking the road until 7 pm because the government wasn´t supplying them medicine. Maybe we will stop by there on our way back and give out some of our medicines! Due to this stop we stayed another night in a hotel in Salina Cruz just several hours from La Barra.

Finally, Wednesday morning we arrived in La Barra. That night we were told to meet with Jose (VP), Arturo (Pres), and the secretary and treasurer. Jose did all the talking and basically told us to leave, because the majority of the people in La Barra voted for us not to come back (this was a lie). Rafael later that night did some negotiating with Jose and we were told we could stay until Saturday. Thursday, some of the men from the team went to talk to Jose but couldn´t find him but found out instead from the people they visited with that they never voted for us not to come back. As the story unfolds we are realizing more and more that the village people love us and want us here. Jose is the only one who is persistent in our not being here. Pablo, a good friend from times past and one who loves La Barra, feels the same way but has never been outright angry with us. He has always been kind and still calls us his friends. Tonight the men from our team played baseball at the field and Jose was there. The contact was friendly but please be praying that the Lord would remove his heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh; that God would save him and make him a new creation, for His glory. Pray also for Pablo that God would save him.

As we seek the Lord we see this trip as a time to really strengthen the four believers who are here: Eva, Inocenta, Eugenia, and Briseda. We met this morning, except Briseda, and sang praises and Paul Poppe exhorted them from Colossians 1:3-8.
Please join us in prayer that God would strengthen these believers to press on to know Him long after we are gone. For some westerners this may sound strange, but there has been some real outward spiritual warfare going on in Eva´s house (before our arrival), especially dealing with her 5 year old daughter Dayana. Please be praying for Eva and for the salvation of her husband Rafael and their children Israel, Jonathan, and Dayana. The hardest part about being here is that we don´t necessarily get the threats but Eva and her unbelieving husband do. They have a lot they could lose for standing firm in the faith, and Rafael is not even a believer (that we know of)! They could be reduced to nothing and forced to start over and if this happens then God is faithful and will provide but please pray for the gospel to go forth in La Barra, whatever the cost; that God would shine His glory in this dark place and that the gospel would penetrate the hearts of those in this little village. Pray that the witness of the four believers would be used by God to change hearts. I have so much more I wish to tell you but I think this will suffice.

If I told you my heart´s cry it would be from a begging position, pleading with you to pray for salvation for the people I have mentioned in this update as well as many more I haven´t mentioned: Eduardo (Eugenia´s husband) and Pancho (Inocenta´s husband) to name a few more. We don´t know if we will be here much past tomorrow and we know that God can move mountains. He can accomplish anything He desires in whatever time frame He chooses. Pray He uses us for His glory to plant seeds and Lord willing, reap a harvest. Thank you for joining me in prayer. You are a HUGE blessing to me!